2025 6th gen 4Runner Official Reveal Thread

Yeah. Toyota has a history of being sorta middle of the road. I know the Land Cruiser has a global history as a reliable, durable off-roader, but in the US market we have roads. We're not Africa, or Australia, or Mongolia. Off-roading is a hobby, not a necessity. Which is why Toyota builds what they build for this market.

Every once in a while they turn out something outrageous, a Lexus LFA, I guess we were hoping for at least one crazy model in this latest round of trucks (Tacoma, LC/GX, 4Runner).

 

Win some, lose some. On the upside, the 6th gen will fit 35" tires with ease. There are also improvements inherited from the platform, like absence of a low-hanging crossover pipe, and removal of the exposed rear locker motor (replaced by a solenoid). I think the biggest hinderance to off-road use will be the 6th gen's much larger size.

The Limited trim is also more palatable now without the ghey sideskirts on the 5th gen.

 

Well, everyone has an opinion.

 

I think the idea was to change those regulations so that they wouldn't cause manufacturers to keep making vehicles bigger.

I know most of us tend to dislike government regulations. But, we'd probably end up living in a disgusting wasteland without environmental regulations. Look at how gross the Great Lakes and their tributaries were getting before the government stepped in.

 

+1 and also remember that the CA in CAFE stands for Corporate Average. People keep asking "how can Dodge still make a v8 truck" but hte 4Runner doesnt get one. Well Dodge could make a 5mpg v10 if they wanted to as long as they sell 10x, 20x,30x as many 40mpg hybrids to bring the fleet average up to 25 or 30 or whatever the next tier is....

 

I like this perspective!

Being able to fit 35's without butchering the frame could be a huge selling point for some.

 

the reason is the majority of buyers of 4runners are females the last few years. the forum people are maybe 1-5% of the total buyers of 4R. out of that 1-5% maybe 10% of them are really into the trd pro or trail hunter. most sales will be either the SR5 or limited/platinums (females)

in my town 90% of the limiteds are female drivers and i think ive only seen like 5 others besides myself being a male driver in a limited. i need the FT 4WD for getting to work in the mornings before the plows hit the roads as i am on the road at 5am.

 

I haven't read anything about fitting 35's on the 6th gen, is this based on people's experiences modding the Tacoma?

I did see, was it TRD Jon, who mentioned the larger rear-end on the TRD Pro/Trailhunter.

 

But we can do regime changes with 4Runners (or Prados)

 

Even if I didn’t care about the environment, I still would want this fixed.

Not every vehicle needs to be larger, the size increase isn’t good if you want to take it off road either. It adds cost and decreases fuel economy.

The previous size was more than adequate for the 4runner

 

I'm just basing that on the post I quoted. I hope it's true! It would certainly be a factor in my decision to keep the '19 or trade up.

 

I'm keeping my '23 ORP. The 6th Gen looks like a giant RAV4. I also suspect that 4 banger will sound like a ticking time bomb.

 

Gotcha. Yeah, that's why I'm waiting to see how all these new trucks sort themselves out over the next two years. See which one takes the least amount of effort to improve ground clearance. I'm not really a fan of spending $$$$ on a brand new vehicle, then another $$$$ to make it do what I want. At that point, importing an old 70-series from central america might be an option. Or not.

 

Yeah the experiences modding the Tacoma over the past few months are transferrable now. I posted the video in post #552 of this thread. 35" tires will be a popular upgrade on 6th gen 4Runners the same way 33" tires were before.

 

Nice. 33" tires weren't a big enough difference from stock *for me* to bother with. 35's however, I can get behind that. That definitely goes in the pro column for the 6th gen.

 

I totally agree. I thought it was their jam as well. The Service Manager said it had to do with being ventilated, heated, aniline leather on the ES 350 Ultra Luxury. Seats were hard as rocks. I would have never bought it had I known but I put in for an allocation during the pandemic and found out after the fact.

 

It seems like many of Toyota’s vehicles are moving towards luxury. Isn’t that what Lexus is supposed to be?

 

everything is going that way. all cars.

 

There has been a dramatic before/during/after change in LA smog over the past decades.

No raindrop believes it responsible for the flood.

With Bentley hitting record sales and cars still selling at markups, I bet automakers are seeing the richer folks as the target to hit. Mazda, Jeep, yep, everyone is looking to move upmarket. Just a few more dollars a month! Just a few dozen more months!

Cue that six figure Wagoneer - albeit it may have been too much.

 

So I watched the vid, but can someone save me the time and explain what Toyota changed on the 6th gen to run 33's and be 35" friendly?
Body mounts?

 

Yup. You and @Thatbassguy are spot on.
I understand Toyota's logic here, but dammit I wanted a dedicated off road vehicle from Toyota. Not an even bigger luxury SUV.

At least this will keep me happy with my 5th gen for longer!

 

Yeah, you and me both.

If I'm honest, I was hoping for a 4Runner variant that was somewhere between what we got with the 6th gen, and a 70-series. It's a complete fantasy, I know, but, the LC turned out to be meh. Help me 4Runner, you're my only hope!

The reality is, the 6th gen is fine. The 5th gen that I have is fine. It's just truck.

 

I really wanted to like the new sequoia but the cargo space was a no go for my family. We go deep into the woods for camping & we need lots of cargo room. Seems the new 4Runner has relatively the same idea for the cargo space. The 4Runner cargo space is better but losing the flat floor seems to be the norm.

What are the cargo options on 4Runner 6gen? Hybrid battery pack, 3rd row seating & then SR5 base with no 3rd row (flatish floor)? If so, I’d like to see a base SR5 cargo area with no battery pack & no 3rd row.

 

Do you have any data to back that up or are you just guessing from anecdotal observations?


I find it funny how much "offroad bro" posturing there is in this thread mocking the general public for not being 'true' SUV people.... but then some of the these same complainers seem to have very basic misunderstandings about how the 5th gen they are driving works, all the folks who laughed at the Tacoma ADD failure not realizing our 4Runners use the same exact ADD system to unlock the front end (along with pretty much every Toyota 4x4 since they stopped selling rigs with manual hubs, sometime in the mid 90s I think???)

 

I don't like the lack of space either and had the same thought on the Sequoia - But I totally get why they did it. The engineers are really stuck between some bad or worse choices with the hybrid system: they have to find some space for that big battery pack. You cant put it up front in the engine bay because that will just make the weight distribution of a very nose heavy vehicle even worse. Putting it out back is much better, and even offers the potential for better weight dist and handling than the non-hybrid, but then you have a packaging issue. The cant hang it down low under the floor because it will get in the way of the frame, fuel tank, spare tire and the space the rear axle needs for articulation. Putting it under the rear seat is a maybe but will kill second row headroom. So they take the least bad path and put it in the cargo floor.

The other option would be to go Tesla style and make the pack very thin but take up the entire floor of the passenger area. This could be done but would result in making the entire body a couple inches taller and that may stretch the limits of getting it to fit in a standard height garage door.

 

i was all for a 24 sequoia but that rear storage layout/contortion was a deal breaker. so i waited for the 4runner. if the 4runner doesnt work out, my last choice was a grand highlander hybrid platinum.

you get a lower flat floor if you skip the hybrid option, but you get 3rd row rumble seats (like the old LC flip ups if i remember correctly)

if you go hybrid the battery pack juts up and creates a hump that the 2nd row has about 3in deflection vs the floor.

you can see this in the all the videos of the trd pro from all the YT people.

 

this is from an external article

https://www.autoblog.com/2024/04/09/2025-toyota-4runner-comparison-land-cruiser-old-4runner/

 

lol ground clearance is in feet.....

curious what the cargo weight capacity is

 

I wonder how the discussions went internally during the Sequoia’s development. I know they’re leaning into off-road capability this generation but my guess is that the cost savings of keeping everything solid-rear axle and using it globally outweighed the benefits of independent rear suspension to the bean counters and they’re just leaning into off-road because of that.

Independent rear suspension yields a lot of extra space and that was partly why the third-gen Pathfinder and too rare Borrego were on my shopping list last year - before being ruled out by availability, condition and rarity - the fold-flat third rows and underfloor storage while retaining a frame and low range were more appealing to me than articulation.

Sharing more just seems to be the theme this generation. Everyone gets a solid axle and the same tumbling second row with meh cargo area packaging reminiscent of early PHEV designs! (where they just shoved the battery somewhere like the trunk)

I think the third-row GX might be the flattest if I recall correctly?

 

The spare tire looks to be the biggest hurdle to departure angle. Definitely looks lower with an actually full size spare (as expected, given the Trailhunter Tacoma’s). The other trims probably wont look as bad because they will probably get a temporary donut like the other Tacoma trims get. Time to save up for a steel rear bumper with tire carrier!!!

Regarding the luxury trends, I also wish toyota called it good after the LC and the Lexus options. The 4runner is still around, probably due to internet fame. At least, I think that’s what kept it relevant in the later years of the 5th gen, and increased awareness of what a neat vehicle this. I think 4runners are a different market. They could have been more creative with the 6th gen 4runner with regard to dimensions. The TNGA platform doesn’t mean the frames have to be exactly alike across models. The four corners are what they need to keep, otherwise length and width of the frame could have been adjusted.

But they didn’t even need to do that, because the interior space behind the driver could have been better just by keeping the a-pillar more upright, and maybe chopping off an inch or two from the firewall forward. The front end doesn’t have to be as long as it is (unless it actually is the exact same tacoma body panels, and Toyota wanted to keep those cost savings).

I’m hoping the rear is big enough to sleep in without much DIY re-engineering, the back seats get out of the way, and that the cargo space is as big and usable. If not, then the attention of instagrammers, forums, and youtube media will turn elsewhere, and the 4runner just effectively turns into just another highlander. This might turn out to be a big deal.

I’m hopeful the turbo and turbo/hybrids will do well. Toyota is all-in with this motor across the line-up of various models. Hopefully they realize how much is riding on these engines being durable and reliable, and address any problems quickly as they come up. The consolidation of engines options should make it easier for engineers to get lots of data to eventually make it super reliable.

If not, then their reputation stands to suffer across the board, because it will affect more than just 4runners.

Aren’t they realizing that these modern turbos that use direct injection actually create more fine particulates, and are more like diesels in that regard? Increased fine particulates in geographic depressions or valleys like LA aren’t that great either. In fact, they are probably worse in terms of immediate health effects in places like LA.

If particulates in fact turn out to be a real problem with turbo/DI engines, then advocacy groups and lawmakers will turn particulate emissions into the new environmental target. Then we’ll be getting turbo 4cyl engines with DEF systems lol